Seats for motor vehicles



Sept. 20, 1960 F. BRENDEL 2,953,191

SEATS FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Nov. 5, 1957 P. Sheets-Sheet 1 .IIIIIIIIII Sept. 20, 1960 F. BRENDEL 2,953,191

SEATS FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Nov. 5, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 20, 1960 hice SEATS FOR Moron VEHICLES Friedrich Brendel, Saalstadt, Germany, assigner to Bremshey & Co., Solingen-Obligs, Germany Filed Nov. 5, 1957, Ser. No. 694,661

Claims priority, application Germany Nov. 6, 1956 3 Claims. (Cl. 155-51) The invention relates to a seat for motor vehicles with cushioning and shock absorption, the seat of which is connected to a rigid base trame by means of a parallelo- -gram system of guide rods controlling the movement of the seat in a straight line. Such seats for motor vehicles are known. They are characterized by great comfort due to the combination of cushioning, shock-absorbing and straight guiding, with the result that the driver in particular tires less easily. The known seats of this type are, however, open to the objection that the structural elements take up a considerable amount of space. Consequently it is not possible in many cases to install the seat in the space available in the interior of a vehicle which is frequently very restricted.

The object of the invention is to produce a seat of a construction which takes up but little space yet possesses all the functional advantages of the known seats. According to the invention, the part connected to the second rod of the parallelogram system is slidable `in relation to the rst rod and the iirst rod forms with this part a cylinder and piston or piston and cylinder combination acting as a hydraulic shock absorber, a spring being arranged in the cylinder which bears against the piston. At the same time the tirst rod can be either the upper rod or the lower rod of the parallelogram system. Therefore, in the case of the seat according to the invention, one of the two rods is at the same time an important element of the shock absorber and cushioning device. Thus, a construction is obtained which occupies practically no more space than a seat of known type equipped with parallelogram guide rod system. The vehicle seat according to the invention is characterized by its low constructional height and light weight.

In the preferred form of construction according to the invention, .the cylinder constitutes the lirst guide rod, whereas the piston is connected with the second guide rod. 'Ihe arrangement can also be reversed but does not then possess the additional advantages attainable by the preferred form of construction.

The vehicle seat according to the invention can likewise be improved by making the part connected to the second guide rod adjustable to the second guide rod. Thus it is possible to bring the loaded seat to the height actually required in a simple manner.

The cushioning is preferably so constructed that the spring is already stressed when the seat is not loaded, that is, it is prestressed. This prestressing is made adjustable according to a vfurther improvement of the subject matter of the invention, in that the piston is mounted on a piston rod provided with a screw thread and the piston rod can be turned from outside.

Other objects of the invention and other advantages obtainable by the invention will become apparent from the several forms of construction hereinafter described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which 2 Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view partly in section showing the first form of construction;

Fig. 2 is a similar View of a second form of construction; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal Section through the element serving for cushioning and shock-absorbing;

Fig 4 shows in side elevation the seat frame of the construction illustrated in Fig. 2 but with slight structural modifications;

Fig. 5 is an end view looking in the direction of the arrow V in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation corresponding to Fig. 4 but with some of the parts reversed;

Fig. 7 is an end view looking in the direction of the arrow VII of Fig. 6, and

Figs. 8 and 9 show in a simple diagrammatic form two diierent possibilities of arranging the seat frame in relation to the rigid support.

According to Fig. l, the seat consists of a rigid support or base frame 10 the foot 11 of which is iixed on the floor of the vehicle by means of bolts 12. It carries a movable frame 13 with head plate 14 on which the seat upholstering 15 with the back rest 16 is secured by bolts 17. Two parallel guide rods 18 and 19 articulated on the base frame by joints 20 and 21 serve for connecting the movable seat frame 13 with the rigid support or base frame 10. The guide rods 18 and 19 are of the same length and the distance between the joints 20 and 21 mounting the rods to the movable frame 13 is the same as the distance 4between the joints 22 and 23. The parts 10, 13, 18 and 19 v therefore form a parallelogram guide rod system. v

A piston 24 is lixed on the guide rod 19 and slidable in a cylinder 25. A projection 26 on the left hand cylinder cover 27 extends'over the guide rod 18 and has a bore 28 with the aid of which it is longitudinally slidable on the guide rod 18. 'Ihe guide rod 18 is provided with a screw thread 29 on which two nuts 30 and 31 are mounted and by means of these nuts the projection 26 can be xed on the guide rod 18.

A spiral spring 32 is located between the piston 24 and the cylinder cover 27 The piston 24 with t-he cylinder 25 constitute together a hydraulic shock absorber. For this purpose the piston 24 is provided with a passage 33 and the cylinder 25 is closed at the right hand end byv means of a cover 34. It can easily be seen that the movement of the piston 24 in the cylinder 25 is damped if the cylinder is iilled with oil.

If the seat is loaded, the piston 24 shifts towards the left, relative to cylinder 25, as the seat frame d3 moves in .a downward direction, so that the spring 32 is compressed until the load and resilient force are in equilibrium. Jolt-s of the vehicle are taken up by the spring. The movement resulting therefrom is damped.

'I'he height of the seat surface above the floor when the v seat is not loaded can be adjusted as desired within certain limits by adjusting the position of the projection 26 on the yguide rod 18. For this purpose the nuts 30 and 31 a-re displaced on the screw thread 29.

The construction illustrated in Pig. 1 requires much less space than the known forms of construction in which the cushioning and shock absorbing means do not constitute parts of the parallelogram guide rod system but are separate parts requiring additional space. However, the form of construction illustrated in Pig. l is open to objections. 'Ihe adjustment of the height of the seat is inconvenient on account of the nuts being in a position where they are not easily accessible and can only be carried out with difficulty if the vehicle is in daily use. Another objection is that the guide rod 19, which constitutes the piston rod of the piston 24, passes out of the cylinder at both ends.

These objections are overcome in the preferred form ofconstru'ction of the invention illustrated in Fig. 2. Therein asin Fig. 1, the seat frame 43 is connected with 'the lXed supportV or base frame 4d by two guide rods 48 and .49 of the'same length with vthe aid of jointsSt), 51,

form of Ya cylinder fora piston'g54' the piston rodl55of which passes' through. the cover 'S'Sat' the rightlha'nd' end of'the'cylinder' and Vis connectedat' its* extremity to the guide rod 48 byY means of a projection 56.l This projection is,`for'ex`ample, welded' on the' end of the guide rod '48." A spring 62" is arranged between the piston 54 'and'y the .cylinder cover 58. The. rod or cylinder 48 is filled with oil and the 'piston 54 has a bore 63 vso that the-whole assembly forms a shock absorber. Y

I-f'the seat is loaded, thespring 62, as inthe casel of the spring 32, isV compressed Vand jolts of the vehicle are cushioned andtake'n'up byV this spring. VVAtttlie same time it is not necessary to pierce the second cylinder cover 64 v for'thepassage of the piston rod 55. In addition the possibilitiesof adjustment are much simpler.

The outwardlyextending end 65 of the piston rod' 55 pass'esjthroughV a hole in the projection 56 and is provided.

with a screw thread 67 on which a nut 68 is turnable.

Under the weightV of the seat frameY 43' and upholsteringv 45 andV back rest 46 the projection 56 is maintained in contact with the nut 68. lf the nut 68 is shifted,Y the Y height of the seat is changed. Furthermore the seat r-ame can be raised above the position it assumes in unloaded stateif,"for example, itis desired to obtain` more space when entering the vehicle. rPhe projection V56 then moves away from the nutY 68 and' itis not necessary to .overcome theresistance oiered by the resilient force and damping force.

The piston 54is mounted on the piston rod 55 by means Vof'a screw thread 69 and the piston rod 55 can be turned Vbymeans of a tommy bar 70 mounted at its outer end.

The pist-on is prevented" from participating in the turning motion by the frictional pressure exerted by thespring 62.

The left hand end 71 of the piston rod 55 is also kept in contact with the cover 64 by spring pressure. The turningv of'the piston rod therefore results in a longitudinal displacement of the piston accompanied by a corresponding compression or release ofthe spring 62. The prestressing of the spring canA therefore be adjusted with the aid of the tommy .bar 70. The two means of adjusting the height of.

the seat and prestressing the spring are in the form of construction illustrated in Fig. 2 arranged at places .wherel Y they are easily accessible. veniently brought into the desired position by ther driver. Fig. 3 shows further details of the device serving for Fig. 2 for the sake of clearness. Y

Parts which have already'bcen described in connection with Fig. 2 are designated by the same reference numerals. In the right hand cylindercover 58a gasket 73 isxed by means of a retainer ring 72 for the piston rod 55 projecting therethrough anda bore 75 which can. be closed by1 a screw' 74 is providedfor the shock absorbing oil.

In addition to the spring 62,V the prestressing of which isl adjustable in the manner described, a second spring 76 Both can therefore be con-f cushioning and shock absorbing, which are omitted from;V

that is as the-seat framede'seends, whereas only a narrow,

bore 79lis provided for the passage of the oil when the-Y piston moves in the opposite direction. The bores 78 are closed by a plate 80 when the pistonis at rest or moves towards the left. To effect the closure the plate 80 is loaded by a relatively -weak spring 8l which bears lightly against the disk 82`iiXed on the Ypiston 54.

'Ihe form of construction illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 corresponds substantially with thatshown in Fig. 2 with a few structural modiiications. The seat frame consists of a plate 83 with two cheeks '84. The upper guide rod consists of a channel section 85" the' right end V.oiV which carries a projection which is welded on and corresponds to the projection-56 but is inthe form of .a plate 86. The base or fixed frame consists of. a baseplate 87 with two cheeks 88'.` Pins`89, 90 t in holes irrthecheeks.`v 84 and form the front joints andV corresponding pins 91 and 92 engage in holes-in the cheeks 88 and form the rear joints of the parallelogram. 93 is a cylinder corresponding to the Ypart 49 in lFig. 2. For therheight adjustment of the seat a nut 94'is again provided. Theprestressing of the spring may be Vcontrolled by a tommy bar-'95 on" the outwardly projecting pistonV rod 96;

Figs. 6*- and 7 show that by reversing. the guideY rodv system lthevadjusting means 94 and 95, which in'Fig. 4

are situated` on the kbaseframe-end, can be located "onthe' All the parts' remain with back rest 99'can be secured on the seat frame 97" of the seat'according to Figs. 4 lto"7', taking intocon-V sideration the existing space available. I-t will'ea'silybe seen that in the-caseof the seats shownin Figs; 8 and' 9 the guide rod system can be reversed'as isV shownin Figs. 6 and 7. t I

I cl-aim:

1. A device for cushioning a vehicle seat"compr`ising a fixed base frame, a displaceable seat frame; lowerand upper substantially horizontalV parallel spaced' guide link elements connectingI s-aid base frame with said seat frame, the lower of said elements'comprisng a hydraulic shock absorber cylinder provided with an upwardlyY directed extension, a piston slidable in said cylinder, a spring Vin saidcylinder bearing against said piston", a piston rod slidable in said cylinder and extending through'the cylinder ends, said piston rod having'its ends pivotably'secured to said xed base kframe and said seat frame, respectively, said upper link element being in engagement; with said extension.

2. The device as set forth in claim4 1, further provided with means for adjusting said guide rod with respect to saidextension on'saidlower guide'rod;

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein-said upper link is provided with'ra screw thread and said extensionA with an opening for the passage' of said upper link and` anadjusting nut movably'mounted on theV screwthread and bearing against'said extension.

References Cited in the le of this patentk UNITEDV STATES VPlsTl-IITS Y 703,713.v smith et a1. July-r, 1902: 2,639,141. Gabriel May-1`9,11953' 2,667,209 Gundersen 26, 1954 2,821,239 Brendel Jan: 28;".1958

FOREIGN' PATENTS'. Y 22,716 Great Britain Aunt 18941.'v 27,103V Great Britain- A114913' 928,5734 Germany JuneZ, 1955 

